Iran is now a “legitimate target” for Israeli missile strikes, one of the country’s most senior ministers has told the Telegraph, raising the prospect of an all-out war with Tehran.
In a wide-ranging interview, Nir Barkat, Israel’s economy minister, also said Palestinians from the West Bank would never be allowed to work in the country again and would be replaced by more than a quarter of a million imported foreign workers.
He also complained that the war in Gaza had not been fought aggressively enough.
Mr Barkat, who is favourite to succeed Benjamin Netanyahu as leader of the ruling Likud party, said Israel could afford to keep fighting and open up a new front with Lebanon, despite the billion shekel (£200 million) a day cost of the conflict.
He said that as “big as the crisis is, it is also a really big opportunity”, with governments around the world needing Israel’s technical expertise to combat global jihadism.
The risk of the war spreading to Lebanon and as far as Iran will alarm Western leaders, with Mr Barkat becoming increasingly influential in the ruling party.
Polls suggest the economy minister would win five more seats than Mr Netanyahu if he replaced him as Likud’s leader.
Mr Barkat, 64, said: “Iran is a legitimate target for Israel. They will not get away with it. The head of the snake is Tehran. My recommendation is to adopt the strategy that President Kennedy used in the Cuban missile crisis. What he basically said then was a missile from Cuba will be answered with a missile to Moscow.
“And we should very very clearly make sure the Iranians understand that they will not get away with using proxies against Israel and sleep good at night if we don’t sleep good at night.”
He said Israel had “an open bill” with Iran, drawing on a reference from his successful business career to warn the Islamic regime, which funds Hamas and Hezbollah, that it had a debt that needed repaying.
“Iran will not get away with it,” said Mr Barkat: “We believe them when they say they want to destroy Israel. If anything, what we have learned from October 7 is believe our enemies and the wickedness in their evil, their goals, thoughts and actions and we are not going to allow another Holocaust.
